Judy hung up and watched as Rick walked past the flashing lights on the police car and across the street. “We’re free to leave.”
“I’m not sure where we should go. Seems wrong to just walk away and let the police handle what they’ve already mucked up.”
Rick rubbed his jaw with a sly smile on his face. “Not ready to give up the adventure, Utah?”
The urge to roll her eyes was strong, but Judy refrained and gave her head a little shake instead.
“I just happen to think we’re considering the entire game while the police are only picking one team. Becky’s with two very misguided parents and probably scared to death. But she’s not stupid. She ran away once, she’ll do it again.”
Rick’s playful smile slid into something more thoughtful. “How might a teenage, pregnant girl run from parents who are on the run?”
Judy closed her eyes, thought of how it might feel to be surrounded by parents who might think they’re doing the right thing, but weren’t. “Eventually I’d make my captors think I’ve complied…became weak.” Judy pictured a rest stop…a bathroom…“Then I’d use a simple task, like going to the bathroom or needing food, and then make my escape.” Judy opened her eyes and saw Rick staring at her.
“Pregnant women need to pee a lot.”
Judy brought both hands to her face. “God, poor Becky.”
“Hey.” She felt Rick’s hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find her.”
The phone in her pocket rang. She answered to hear Karen’s voice. “Judy?”
“It’s me.”
“Where are you?”
“In front of Becky’s parents’ home.”
“No clue as to where they went?”
Judy sighed. “No.”
“Any chance the neighbors saw anything?”
Judy glanced around at the few people that had managed to work their way to their front yards to watch the activity. “Even if they did, what could they say…the car drove east…west? All roads lead to the freeway. Where they went from there is the question.”
“The hairdresser? Petra.”
“Yeah, what about her?”
“She’s the only person in town that I can think of to ask.”
“She cuts hair, Karen.”
“Oh, Judy…you need to know that hairdressers are the next best thing to a bartender in a small town. If anyone knows anything…it will be Petra.”
With the phone to her ear, Judy moved from the car far enough to open the door and let herself in.
Rick jumped in the driver’s seat.
Judy pointed ahead of them. “Turn left,” she told Rick. “I hope you know what you’re talking about, Karen.”
“It’s all I have.”
“I’ll call you back.”
Judy clicked off and directed Rick to Main Street. It was Sunday and therefore quiet. They parked alongside the curb and Judy jumped out and ran into Petra’s salon.
A woman sat in the chair gabbing while Petra cut.
One look and Petra lifted her scissors from the woman’s hair and smiled Judy’s way. Her eyes drifted beyond her to Rick and the smile grew bolder.
“Hey?”
“Uhm, Petra…can I talk to you a minute?”
The conversation didn’t need extra ears.
Petra glanced around at those in the room and then she excused herself for a moment.
They stepped outside on the deserted sidewalk.
Judy cut right to the facts. “Karen suggested I ask you where the Applegates might take Becky.”
Petra’s tiny smile slid into a frown. “Is she OK?”
Judy shook her head. “I doubt it. Her parents have her…they have several hours’ head start.”
Petra looked at her shoes while the scissors in her hand tapped against her palm. “There’s no family here…not that I’ve been told about. But he has a sister…north.”
North? Great! Like the entire country was north!
“Before Salt Lake…I remember the name being that of a person.”
“Isn’t every town that of a person? Even Hilton?”
“No, not a surname. A first name. You’d remember a town of Judy.”
Oh…
“My phone?” Rick reached out his hand and Judy handed him his phone.
A few seconds later, he opened up a map and blew up the state until he scrolled through the towns one by one.
Petra shoved close as the three of them glanced at the small screen.
“No…no…wait. There. Jeremy. That’s it. Becky’s aunt lives in Jeremy.”
Judy squeezed Petra’s arm. “Thank you.”
Petra smiled as Rick and Judy jumped in the car and headed toward the highway.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Zach would have liked nothing better than to crawl into bed and erase some of the day’s images from his mind, but it didn’t seem that was going to happen. After his brother’s revelation, Zach had stood stunned while the pieces of their life snapped into place. It all made sense now…the relationship between Karen and Michael, how they appeared to be close but not intimate…even when they kissed Zach realized he’d seen the same behavior from his brother while performing in his films. Even Mike’s exodus from Hilton, the need to alienate himself from his family to protect his lifestyle made sense now.
Zach couldn’t deny the weight that had lifted off his shoulders when he learned that Karen and Mike had never been intimate. To know there would never be the wedge between him and his brother was a relief.
Karen unwrapped from his side and pushed off the couch. “I’m going to shower before everyone comes back,” she said.
As much as Zach wanted to join her, he decided to use the time alone with his brother for a much-needed talk.
Karen disappeared into the bedroom suite, leaving Mike and Zach with each other.
“She really is amazing,” Mike told him.
“She worries about everyone else before herself.”
Mike ran a hand through his hair, stared at the floor. “I was pissed at first…when she told me about you two. But then I realized that I couldn’t pick out a better man for her than you.”
The vote of confidence warmed Zach to his soul. “I’m not sure what to say.”
“Just tell me you’re not f**king with her. That there’s something more than a sexual itch.” Mike stared at him now, all humor and smiles long gone.